Ernest homan



(No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

E. HUMAN. v FIREPROOF FLOOR 0R CEILING.

No. 505,659. Patented Sept. 26,1893.

2 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

B. HOMAN. IREPROOF FLOOR 0R CEILING.

Patented Sept. 26, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

ERNEST HOMAN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

FIREPROOF FLOOR OR CEILING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,659, dated September 26, 1893.

Application filed April 5, 1893- Serial No. 469,191- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST HOMAN, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at 17 Gracechurch Street, in the city of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Fireproof Floors and Ceilings and in Bricks or Blocks to be Employed Therein, of which the following is a specification.

In fire-proof buildings as at present constructed the floors and ceilings are generally composed of iron girders upon the lower flanges of which are supported hollow or tubular bricks or blocks formed of fire resisting material laid side by side the entire length of the girders and transversely thereof concrete or the like being filled in between and over the bricks or blocks and up to the level of the upper flanges of the girders. The hollow bricks or blocks form a centering for the concrete or the like until the same is set While at the same time by reason of their hollow formation they materially reduce the dead weight of the structure and the contained air acts as an effective check to the passage of heat and sound. Hollow or tubular bricks or blocks of this character have hithertobeen formed of such shape as to support the concrete and to rely mainly for their own support upon the flanges of the girders where their extreme ends rest but in practice it is found that merely supporting the bricks or blocks at their extreme ends in the manner above described is not altogether reliable as the weight of the concrete while in a plastic state aided or not by the sudden impact of a heavy body will frequently fracture a brick or block causing the same to fall out of place and inasmuch as the bricks or blocks are generally so constructed that they are only capable of being placed in position upon the girders previous to the filling 1n of the concrete it will be understood that accidents of this character give rise to many difficulties.

Now the primary'object of my present invention is to so construct the hollow or tubula'r bricks or blocks that while acting to support the concrete or the like they will at the same time receive a certain amount of support therefrom along their entire length upon each side thereof and over a considerable area of their surface so that a perfect bond will be formed between the concrete or the like and the bricks or blocks and the dimculty above pointed out will beobviated. For this purpose instead of forming the hollow or tubular bricks or blocks as heretofore in transverse section of pyramidal half round or other shape which will only aiford support to the concrete I form the same wholly or partly of a reverse section to that above described,

that is to say I form it in such manner that the tubular portion thereof increases in diameter from the base to the top of the brick or block or for part of such distance according to the section given to the hollow brick or block thus obtaining a supporting surface to the brick of considerable area and extend-- protect them against direct contact with flame or heat arising from a fire in the apartment immediately beneath. In order to place bricks or blocks of this character in position it is necessary to insert them diagonally between the girders and then turn them into their correct position at right angles thereto or to insert them at the ends of the girders and slide them along into the required position. These methods of placing the bricks or blocks in position are troublesome and consequently expensive and I therefore propose to construct my hollow bricks or blocks in such manner that they may be dropped into their correct position from above and without the necessity for any manipulation of the character above referred to. For this purpose I form one end of each brick or block opposite end of the brick or block with a simple projection or shoulder to rest upon the lower flange of the adjacent girder, and I bevel or incline the ends of the brick or block to such an angle as will permit the extended end to be first placed in position and the shouldered end to be afterward lowered onto the flange of the girder without meeting with any obstruction therefrom. And in order that the said invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully to describe the same.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section of a fire-proof floor or'ceiling having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 11 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the hollow or tubular bricks or blocks separately and Fig. 4 is an end elevation thereof. Fig. 5 is a somewhat similar view to Fig. 1 but showing the method of placing the brick or block in position. Fig. 6 is a similar view to Fig. 4 but representing a slight modification and Fig. 7 is a similar view representing a further slight modification.

In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 a represents the hollow or tubular brick or block constructed according to the present invention. 1) represents the ordinary iron girders upon which the hollow or tubular bricks or blocks are supported and 0 represents the concrete or like filling. In this example the brick or block awhich is formed tubular or with a hollow of therethrough instead of as hereto fore being constructed of ahalf round or other section decreasing in diameter from the base upward and which section was adapted only to afford a support to the concrete or like filling c and not to receive a reliable support therefrom-is according to the present invention formed wholly or partly of areverse section to that above described, that is to say it is formed in such manner that the tubular portion a increases in diameter from the base a to the top of the brick or block a or it.

might be for a part of such distance according to the section given to the hollow or tubular brick or block a, as hereinafter described.

The base a of the hollow or tubular brick or block is extended laterally so that it meets or nearly meets the like bases of adjacent bricks or blocks and thus forms a support for the concrete or like filling 0 until it has set while by reason of the peculiar'section given to the hollow or tubular brick or block a the latter receives a certain amount of support from the concrete or like filling c along the entire length of each side thereof and over a considerable area of its surface so that a perfect bond is formed between the concrete or like filling c and the hollow or tubular bricks or blocks a.

The hollow or tubular brick or block a instead of being formed slotted notched or flanged at both ends to engage the lower flanges of the girders b as hereinbefore described is according to the present invention formed at one end thereof with a notch or slot a to receive the lower flange of the girder b and the base a bordering the lower side of the notch or slot a is extended lengthwise at 69* so that it will completely cover the under side of the girder I) while the base a at the opposite end of the hollow or tubular brick or block a is cut away to leave a simple projection or shoulder a adapted to rest upon the lower flange of the next adjacent girder.

The ends of the brick or block a are beveled or inclined at a to such an angle as will permit the extended end a to be first placed in position upon the lower flange of the girder b as represented more particularly at Fig. 5 and the shouldered end 69* to be afterward lowered onto the lower flange of the girder 1) without meeting with any obstruction therefrom. By this construction the hollow or tubular bricks or blocks a may be readily placed in position without the necessity for introducing them diagonally between the girders or sliding them into position from the ends of the girders as hereinbefore described with respect to other well known devices while the extension 09* of each brick or block a entirely covers a portion of the length of the lower flange of the girder.

In the example given at Fig. 6 the brick or block a is formed of a half round section or approximately so, that is to say the diameter thereof increases from the base a to the top thereof but otherwise it is similar to that hereinbefore described.

In the example given at Fig. 7 the principle of construction of the hollow brick or block is similar to that hereinbefore described but in this case the hollow or tubular brick or block a. is formed of a double pyramidal section, that is to say the diameter thereof decreases gradually from the base a? to the center and increases gradually from the center to the top. This form of hollow or tubular brick or block although perhaps generally not altogetherpossessing the strength of that represented at Figs. 1 to 4 is however a very useful form inasmuch as the strength thereof at the base a is superior to that of the other forms of brick or block hereinbefore shown and described.

In all the examples hereinbefore given the hollow or tubular bricks or blocks a are formed upon their under surface with dovetail grooves a to form keys for the plaster of the ceiling.

By the construction of floor or ceiling and hollow or tubular brick or block hereinbefore described I obtain a mutual support between the brick or block a and the concrete or like filling c and I thereby greatly add to the strength of the finished structure while I obtain the advantage that the hollow or tubular bricks or blocks a are held securely in place until the concrete or like filling has become set and furthermore by reason of the peculiar construction of the ends of the brick or block I reduce the labor in the building up of the floor or ceiling and consequently cheapen the cost of construction thereof.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. A hollow or tubular brick or block formed of a gradually increasing diameter from the base to the top or for a part of such distance and with a laterally extended base substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.

2. A hollow or tubular brick or block formed of a gradually increasing diameter, from the base to the top or for a part of such distance with a laterally extended base with a notch and extended base at one end a shoulder at the other end and with both ends beveled 0r inclined substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.

3. Ahollowortubularbrick or block formed with a notch and extended base at one enda shoulder at the other end and with both ends beveled or inclined substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.

4. In a fire-proof floor or ceiling the combination of a series of iron girders a number of hollow or tubular bricks or blocks each formed of increasing diameter from the base to the top or for part of such distance and provided with a laterally extended base and a filling of concrete or the like substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.

5. In a fire-proof floor or ceiling the combination of a series of iron girders a number of hollow or tubular bricks or blocks each formed of increasing diameter from the base to the top or for part of such distance and havinga laterally extended base a notch or slot and an extension of the base at one end a shoulder at the other end a bevel or incline at each end and a filling of concrete or the like substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.

ERNEST HOMAN.

Witnesses:

W. MELBOURNE WHITE, THOMAS V. GRAFTON, Both of 27 Southampton Buildings, London,

England. 

